Gov. Cuomo's administration is planning to issue a request for proposals next month from organizations willing to undertake the state's goal of remaking and modernizing the area's care system.

ALBANY - State officials are preparing to move ahead with long-awaited efforts to overhaul the healthcare network in central and eastern Brooklyn, including the likely merger of at least three money-losing hospitals into a single care-providing entity for the region.

While no final decisions have been made on how to proceed, Gov. Cuomo's administration is planning to issue a request for proposals next month from organizations willing to undertake the state's goal of remaking and modernizing the area's care system, officials told The Daily News. Plans are expected to be finalized later this year.

In addition to the merging of hospitals, the administration is also looking to create an additional 36 primary and ambulatory care centers intended to reduce unnecessary hospital visits, officials added.

Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center

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The Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center.

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"This is an issue that the administration has been focused on for quite some time,” said Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi. “This RFP is the next step to developing a sustainable healthcare system that meets the needs of underserved Brooklyn residents." The Brooklyn healthcare initiative was among the items Cuomo listed in the 380-page State of the State book released last week.

Cuomo and state lawmakers have been working for years to address the problem of Brooklyn's financially ailing heath care system, which serves a large pool of poor and uninsured patients. They have set aside $700 million in capital funds to pay for the effort.

Interfaith Medical Center located at 1545 Atlantic Avenue.

The moves follow the release in November of a report, commissioned by the state Health Department, that called for the merger of four Brooklyn hospitals - Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Interfaith Medical Center and Wyckoff Heights Medical Center - into a single system. The four hospitals are projected to lose nearly $2 billion over the next five years.

Cuomo administration officials stressed no final decisions have been made concerning the disposition of the hospitals but noted that three - Kingsbrook, Interfaith and Brookdale - announced plans in December to band together into single entity.

Wyckoff Heights Medical Center

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Sen. Kevin Parker, a Democrat who represents a portion of the area, applauded the administration's efforts but warned that it is likely to take years to fully complete the transformation.